Aries Information Systems, Inc., develops and markets computer software specifically designed to meet the financial accounting and reporting requirements of such public bodies as school districts and county governments. One of Aries’s principal products is the POBAS III accounting program. Pacific Management Systems Corporation was organized by Scott Dahmer, John Laugan, and Roman Rowan for marketing a financial accounting and budgeting system known as FAMIS. Dahmer, Laugan, and Rowan were Aries employees before, during, and shortly after they organized Pacific.

Chapter 10 Intellectual Property Rights and the Internet 239 As employees, they each gained access to Aries’s software materials (including the POBAS III system) and had information about Aries’s existing and prospective clients. Proprietary notices appeared on every client contract, source code list, and magnetic tape. Dahmer, Laugan, and Rowan signed an Employee Confidential Information Agreement after beginning employment with Aries.

While still employees of Aries, they submitted a bid on behalf of Pacific to Rock County and were awarded the contract. Pacific’s FAMIS software system is substantially identical to Aries’s proprietary POBAS III system. Aries sued Pacific to recover damages for misappropriation of its trade secrets. Pacific’s defense was that no “secrets” were misappropriated because many employees knew the information in question. Decide. [Aries Information Systems, Inc. v Pacific Management Systems Corp., 366 NW2d 366 (Minn App)]

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